Not so fast, Boise backers

LANDOVER, Md. -- The line of players snaked in front of the lower level of blue-clad fans, a celebration the likes of which has never been seen here at FedEx Field.

Confetti came down from the stands, and players and fans hugged and cried after Boise State's come-from-behind 33-30 victory over Virginia Tech. If you didn't know better, you'd have thought it was the last game of the season -- instead of the first step toward history.

"Maybe people will pay a little more attention to us," Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore said.

And maybe not for the right reasons.

After nine long months of anticipation, this was the last thing Boise State needed. The only way it could've been worse was if it ended with a Broncos loss.

We needed a Stradivarius, they gave us a banjo. We needed van Gogh, they gave us paint-by-numbers.

We've seen this over and over, week after week in the WAC: Boise State jumps to an early lead, gets bored/disinterested/sloppy, and the next thing you know, Louisiana Tech is pressing things in the fourth quarter.

It should come as no surprise then that the Broncos jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, and gave away three touchdowns -- and nearly the season -- before you could say BCS buster. Only a two-minute drill of a drive (it actually lasted 38 seconds) from Moore saved the Broncos to play the next biggest game of their lives on Saturday at Wyoming.

They all know the unwritten rules for non-BCS teams. Fair or not, one slipup, one bad game, and there is no BCS.

Boise State wasn't playing for a BCS bowl Monday night. Been there, done that -- and won both. The Broncos raised the bar last year with yet another unbeaten season, and left themselves -- and more important, poll voters -- with question remaining: Are they good enough to play for it all?

When asked where he'd vote Boise State, Moore said "I'm not going to answer that."

OK, so I will: not in the coveted top two -- at least not yet. Boise State had enough errors and mental mistakes Monday night to last half a season. Two critical fumbles (one caused by Moore's own offensive tackle), 11 penalties, a missed chip-shot field-goal try and a blocked extra-point attempt were all part of a big bowl of ugly.

But maybe, just maybe, the Broncos really are a national power. They can turn it on and off with the best of them; play hard and loose or soft and tight -- and then do just enough to get by.

And that's the problem. There can be no clunkers when the margin for error is so slim, when the eyes of poll voters are dissecting every play and any mistake every week.

"I think our guys know if we lose our edge for a second we'll get beat," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said.

Somewhere between the impromptu postgame celebration and the postgame interviews, Moore had the opportunity to call one of his professors. He would be late, he said, to his 7 a.m. Applied Methods class.

"I think I'm good," Moore said. "I can nap."

Don't nap too long, Boise State. Everyone's watching.

Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News and is an analyst for the NFL Network. Tune in to Total Access weeknights. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.